Dylan waited all of five minutes before Cori came back wearing a pair of those skimpy running shorts, a sports bra visible beneath her oversized tank and her hair pulled into a knot on top of her head. She set her shoes and socks by the couch.
“Let me wash my makeup off and I’ll be ready.”
Moments later she came out and took a seat next to him on the couch to pull on her shoes. Her face was pink and freshly scrubbed, making her look like the teenager he’d fallen in love with. But he couldn’t let himself venture back into the past. He didn’t have the same feelings as he had then. Years ago he’d been naive, now he was intrigued and well…he wanted her again on a physical level. And that little episode last night had played over and over in his mind—as had the exchange earlier between Cori and Mary. So here he was, trying to play the proverbial knight.
“Ready,” she said, coming to her feet. “So, how far you want to run?”
Dylan shrugged. “Up to you. I’ve had a stressful day and just thought we could unwind.”
Okay, so his day had been a cakewalk compared to hers, but he wasn’t going to call her out on it. Better let her think she was doing him a favor. He wasn’t about to damage her pride even more.
“Let’s run on the beach,” he suggested. She’d always loved it in school, and since he’d seen her there last night, he assumed that was still her favorite place to burn off some steam. “We don’t have to set a limit.”
“Sounds good to me.”
She headed toward her back door and once they were on her wide patio, she stepped her long, toned legs out wide and bent to stretch. Mercy, he should’ve gone out the door first. No way could he stand behind her, watching her bend at the waist like that, and not conjure erotic images, fantasies and a hard-on.
He moved to the other side of the patio and started stretching as well. Once she was done, he followed her down the steps toward the beach. He didn’t want to badger her into talking because he figured she was embarrassed and discouraged. If she wanted to open up, he’d listen, but most of all he just wanted her to know she wasn’t alone.
And wasn’t he just a glutton for punishment. The woman who’d ripped his heart out as a teen had resurfaced and he wanted her more than ever. Only now he was here to console. Yeah, this was not going to end well for him if he didn’t keep his emotions and his hormones in check because once the limelight started calling her again—and he had no doubt it would—she’d be running back to that world that had made her one of the most recognized faces in the world.
They set off at an easy pace and Dylan hung back just a tad to give her some space and the control. He wanted her to be comfortable because for some asinine reason, he wanted to be the one she opened up to. He wanted to be the one she used for that shoulder to lean on.
Apparently the mark she’d made on his life years ago was more prevalent than that made by anyone else. Maybe it was her vulnerability beneath that hard exterior, or maybe it was just the fact he’d never stopped caring for her.
“How’s your sister?” she asked.
Dylan watched the swish of her long ponytail. “Doing really well. She stopped by yesterday morning. She asked about you.”
“I’d like to see her,” Cori said, glancing over to him. “But I’d understand if she doesn’t want to see me…considering.”
Dylan kept his eyes forward, on the sand that stretched out before them. “She would love to see you, Cori.”
They ran their first mile and kept going in silence. But every now and then, from the corner of his eye, he could see her glance over at him as if she wanted to speak, but she never did.
After the second mile, she turned to head back and he kept up with her the easy pace. The moon was high overhead, lighting a nice path for them, and Dylan found himself instantly recalling what she looked like wearing only the moonlight and his touch. And it was those memories, those fantasies, that would get him into trouble.
“Why don’t you believe me?” she asked.
Dylan caught her gaze. “What?”
Cori stopped, rested her hands on her knees to catch her breath, and Dylan did the same. Her eyes lifted to his.
“About my charges,” she whispered into the night. “Why do you automatically believe the worst of me?”
Dylan sucked in a lungful of air and shook his head as he came to his full height. “I don’t believe the worst, Cori. But I don’t know you anymore.”
She dropped her head to her chest and sank onto the beach. Dylan watched as she pulled her knees up to her chest and stared out at the tide’s ebbing and flowing.
“You know me,” she said so softly. “You may know me better than anyone. Time hasn’t changed me, Dylan. I may be famous, but I’m no different. I still have fears, still have dreams. Still have feelings that get hurt too easily. And I still have the same morals I did when I lived here. I don’t lie or cheat.”
Dylan took a seat beside her, careful not to touch her. “You’ve changed, Cori. You may not want to see it, but you have. I have. It’s just human nature to grow into a different person than you were as a teen.”
Her misty eyes locked on to his and Dylan couldn’t prevent the clenching of his heart. Her eyes were like a clear window into her heart. All her emotions were laid bare: hurt, confusion, fear, hope. She had it all and he truly believed she was lost within herself.
“I may have changed physically, but I still have feelings for you. That hasn’t changed.”
Dylan called himself all types of fool for reaching over and stroking her cheek, sliding those few wisps of hair back. “You have feelings for the boy I once was and for what we shared. But you don’t know me, Cori. You don’t know the man I am today, just like I don’t know the woman you’ve become. I know what the media has labeled you, but that’s not the same.”
She laughed, turning back to gaze at the moonlit ocean. “Lately the media has thrown me under the bus as fodder for their latest gossip. I’ve seen that happen so many times to celebrities. The media takes a half truth and runs with it in the most negative direction because that sells more than positive stories or when celebrities do something good.”
He listened to her talk. Listened to the frustration, the defeat in her tone.
“And when you’re thrown under that bus,” she went on, “you are usually left alone. No one wants to stand with you, except for the lawyers, and that’s only because you’re paying them. And God forbid you try to get back on your feet. More mocking, more backs are turned.”
Dylan slid his hand up her back, cupped her neck and squeezed lightly. “Cori—”
“Corinne.”
He shook his head when she looked over at him. “Are we going to always fight about this? To me, you’re Cori. You’ve changed, but you’re still Cori in my heart.”
Her eyes searched his. “I have a place in your heart?”
Dylan removed his hand because this was getting too deep, too fast and he just…he couldn’t. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t slide into this level of emotions, true feelings, love…whatever…with Cori again.
“You used to and I guess a part of me will always carry that adolescent love around. You were my first in everything. Even I can’t dismiss that.”
“But you’d like to,” she told him with a sad smile. “It’s okay. I understand. Trust me, after today I fully realize what this town thinks of me and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. But that’s okay. I plan on staying for my parents. Once Mom is back home, hopefully my career can start back up and I can move on.”
And that’s precisely why he couldn’t get any more involved, other than physically, with Cori. She would be leaving—again. Only this time he saw it coming, knew to brace himself for it.
“What happened today, Cori?”
He hadn’t meant to ask, but the hurt in her voice and her vulnerability had him opening his mouth before he could think. But she needed someone and if he hadn’t asked, he’d look like a total asshole. If she wanted to exp
lain, she would. If she didn’t, then he wouldn’t push.
She shook her head. “Oh, just a nice dose of reality and humility slapped in my face.”
Cori hopped up to her feet and stretched her arms overhead. “Better finish that run.”
She took off without waiting on him and Dylan knew that woman may be running on fumes, scared out of her mind and more vulnerable than she cared to admit, but she had one thing that no one had taken from her. Her pride. Cori would bounce right back. She may be down now, but she had fight left in her.
Dylan was finding it harder and harder to believe that she was ever mixed up in drugs, but that didn’t mean she was innocent of what had been going on the night her house had been raided. They were her friends, after all. And as loving as Cori was, she may have known what her friends did for extracurricular activities, but she’d turned a blind eye to it. And that love had cost her.
He honestly didn’t know, but as he came to his feet and took off in a jog after her, he figured he’d know a lot more about the intriguing Cori before she left to go back to Miami.
But once he did get deeper into her life, could he let her go again?
After dumping her issues in his lap, crying and having the man kill a bat, the least Corinne could do was take a peace offering to Dylan.
Okay, so maybe the sex was a peace offering of sorts, but she didn’t really think so, considering it was fast, hard, sweaty, and they hadn’t really discussed it since it happened.
Corinne crossed the spacious yards between their homes and carried the plate of freshly baked brownies—Dylan’s favorite. At least, it used to always be his favorite sweet treat.
Why was she nervous about this? It was Dylan. He was still just as laid-back as ever, but she could tell the hurt she’d caused was still there. Or maybe he’d buried it and seeing her had resurfaced it. Who knows? But they did have a past that needed to be explored and put to rest once and for all.
Too bad she couldn’t delve too deep into that time in her life without revealing exactly why she’d left. If he ever found out he’d surely hate her and she couldn’t bear not only the thought of that, but also the fact that the truth would quite possibly destroy him.
She marched up the steps of his home and balanced the plate on one hand while ringing the doorbell with the other.
It was early, but she figured Saturday mornings didn’t mean much to him. She glanced down to her simple yellow sundress and flip-flops. She was going for casual, but not sloppy. And she’d put so much care into her outfit this morning she actually felt silly because the man had seen her naked, had seen her spread out in a magazine modeling lingerie and had gone on a sweaty run with her. But she just wanted him to see her as a down-to-earth girl. That small-town girl still lived in her and she wanted him to see she truly wasn’t that different.
Finally his oversized oak door eased open and…oops. Apparently Saturday mornings did mean something.
But, mercy’s sake, the man did make a morning brighter. With that rumpled hair, sheet marks on his face, bare chest and boxers hanging low on narrow hips…yeah, mornings just got a whole lot easier to face. She needed a picture of this for those hellish Monday mornings.
“Um…I’m sorry, Dylan. I didn’t realize you’d still be in bed.”
Oh God. Was he alone? She wanted to die. Right now she wanted the ground to swallow her whole, brownie plate and all. And if there was some bimbo in his bed, there was no way in hell she was mooching these brownies.
God, the green monster had reared his ugly head and Corinne wasn’t ashamed to admit she was beyond jealous.
“No, it’s okay. I was up late last night.” He opened the door wider. “Come on in.”
Surely if he had a visitor he wouldn’t have invited her inside. Right? She still stepped inside cautiously and darted her eyes around the living area for a stray bra or stiletto.
“What do you have there?” he asked, eyeing the plate.
“Brownies.” She handed him the plate. “They’ve been cooling for about an hour.”
He eyed the plate in his hands, then stared at her. “How long have you been up?”
She shrugged. “I actually didn’t go to bed. Couldn’t sleep.”
His gaze stayed on her a few moments before he turned and headed toward the kitchen. “Come on back and I’ll put on some coffee.”
Apparently they were alone and Corinne relaxed a bit more, knowing he hadn’t been putting the moves on some busty blonde.
Corinne moved through the house, trying not to let so many memories flood back. But it was impossible not to walk through and imagine the teens they once were, laughing and snuggling on the couch, watching a movie—or rolling around on the floor when they were home alone.
Stepping into the kitchen, she glanced at the new surroundings. “Wow, Dylan. This all looks amazing.”
“Thanks.” He poured the water into the machine and clicked it on. “I was finishing last night and I didn’t want to go to bed until it was done.”
Corinne ran her hand over the flawless granite countertop and eyed the new center island. “This looks so fresh and clean. I’m really impressed.”
He threw her a glance. “Don’t sound so surprised. You’re not the only one who is good at something.”
Corinne stepped back. “That was harsh.”
Dylan cursed and shook his head. “I didn’t mean that, Cori. I just…”
He sighed and turned back to the coffeepot which was starting to sputter and drip. Corinne wasn’t sure if she should just leave or stay. This awkwardness that had settled in the room wasn’t something she’d expected.
“I’ll just leave—”
“No,” he said reaching for her arm. “Don’t go. I’m an ass this morning. Chalk it up to lack of sleep.”
She quirked a brow. “I didn’t sleep either, but I’m not hurling insults.”
Dylan’s lips tilted. “And you made brownies. Apparently you are better at losing sleep than I am.”
“Maybe I’m just more of a people person,” she said, smiling sweetly. “And maybe I enjoy mornings.”
His eyes raked over her and the man might as well have touched her with his bare hands, the effect was the same. Her body shivered, tingled, and she instantly remembered how he felt skin to skin. The hair on his chest as it tickled her breasts, the stubble on his jaw as his kisses had traveled down her neck, the grip of those big, strong hands around her waist.
“I have to say, waking up with a beautiful lady holding a plate of brownies made my day a whole lot brighter.”
Corinne smiled. “I just hope they taste okay. Remember that one time…”
She stopped. She’d purposely not brought up any of their past. She’d actually been hoping neither of them had to discuss their previous time together. But now she’d done it, and she could tell by the look on his face that he was remembering that day too.
“I remember,” he said, his voice husky, his heavy-lidded eyes homing in on hers. “I remember ripping your shorts off in this very room and the pan of brownies we were making burned because we were otherwise…occupied.”
He moved toward her, stalking, smiling. “I remember the smoke alarm going off and we didn’t care.”
Before Corinne knew it, Dylan had caged her in against the countertop with his hands on either side of her body. She placed her hands on his chest, but didn’t push him away. She did, however, resist the urge to curl her fingertips into his bare skin and feel those amazing pecs he’d put on display.
“I remember everything about our time together, Cori,” he whispered as he leaned in to nuzzle her ear. “All your sighs, your sweet little moans. The way your body clenched mine.”
Corinne closed her eyes and dropped her head back as memories, visions assaulted her. Instantly she was taken back to the reckless teen she was when she didn’t care about anything but Dylan and their love.
Dylan’s mouth slid along her jawline as his warm breath tickled her, sending more shivers chasin
g after the first set he’d caused.
“Dylan…” she panted, gliding her hands up and over his taut shoulders, “…wh-what are you doing?”
“Making the most of being awakened by a beautiful woman.” His lips continued their path down her throat and to her collarbone, and farther south. “Did you wear this dress to drive me nuts?”
“I-I… Dylan, I can’t think when you’re doing this.”
“Thinking wasn’t part of my plan,” he told her as he eased down the top of her strapless cotton dress and slid his palm over her aching breast. “And I can’t think either when you’re in my house, smelling like sunshine and wearing this little excuse for a dress.”
Corinne framed his face and pulled his mouth up to hers, greedily opening for him and taking all he obviously offered. His tongue swept inside her mouth and she sighed into him, her body literally melting against his.
She shifted her body so she could feel that hard, rigid length of him against her core and she nearly moaned with arousal.
“Dylan!”
Corinne jumped as Dylan jerked back. The sound of a female voice startled her as she tried to adjust her dress and make sure neither boob was spilling out.
“Oh, there you are.”
Corinne glanced to the door and saw Evie. Evie’s eyes darted between Corinne and Dylan, and Corinne wanted the floor to swallow her whole. She’d been practically molesting Dylan and here stood his sister with a look that combined amusement with shock.
This certainly wasn’t the reunion Corinne had imagined.
Chapter Six
Dylan couldn’t believe the timing of his sister. Of all the times she’d stopped by to visit…
“Hey, Evie. What are you doing here?”
Her little smirk was starting to piss him off. “Oh, I just wanted to drop by to talk about the wedding, but I can see you’re busy.”
“Oh no,” Cori chimed in, “I just came to drop off brownies.”
Evie rolled her eyes. “Can we not pretend I didn’t just see you two practically having sex with clothes on? We’re all adults here.”
Secrets from Her Past: Scandalous, Book 2 Page 5